Protective textile sleeve with hot melt fixation, end fray prevention layer and methods of construction and application thereof

ABSTRACT

A protective textile sleeve having enhanced end fray resistance and being adapted to be bonded to an elongate member extending therethrough, and method of construction thereof, are provided. The sleeve has a wall with a cavity bounded by an innermost surface extending between opposite open ends. A first material, including a hot melt adhesive material, facilitating bonding the wall to an outer surface of an elongate member extending therethrough, is bonded to the wall immediately adjacent the opposite ends, and a second material, facilitating prevention of end fray of the wall ends, including an elastomeric material is bonded to the wall immediately adjacent the opposite ends.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This U.S. Divisional patent application claims the benefit of U.S.Utility patent application Ser. No. 14/468,997, filed Aug. 26, 2014, andU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/869,842, filed Aug. 26, 2013,both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Technical Field

This invention relates generally to protective textile sleeves forproviding protection to elongate members contained therein, and moreparticularly to protective textile sleeves having a fixation mechanismfor fixing the sleeves to an elongate member extending therethrough.

2. Related Art

Protective textile sleeves for providing protection to elongate membersextending therethrough are known. Typically, the protective sleeves areformed having one of a tubular wall having a circumferentiallycontinuous wall, or a wrappable wall having opposite lengthwiseextending edges configured to be wrapped into overlapping relation withone another. Regardless of the type of aforementioned wall, the sleevesare typically fixed to the elongate member extending therethrough viawrapped tape or separately applied glue. The application of tape iscostly from a material and labor standpoint, and can also prove to beunsightly if not applied neatly. Further, the externally applied tapecan become damaged, thereby affecting its ability to reliably fix thesleeve to the elongate member. The application of separately appliedglue is also costly from a material and labor standpoint, and canfurther add cost from the need to provide drying time for the glue. Inaddition, the glue can prove messy in application, thereby leading tofurther cost associated with the necessary clean-up thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a protective textilesleeve provided. The sleeve has a wall of interlaced yarn having acavity bounded by an inner surface extending between opposite open ends.A first material, facilitating bonding the wall to an outer surface ofan elongate member extending therethrough, including a hot melt adhesivematerial is bonded to the wall immediately adjacent the opposite ends,and a second material, facilitating prevention of end fray of the wallends, including an elastomeric material is bonded to the wallimmediately adjacent the opposite ends.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the first materialand the second material can be provided as a mixture bonded to the wallimmediately adjacent the opposite ends.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, an intermediatesection of the wall extending between the opposite ends can remain freeof the first and second materials.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the wall can be awrappable wall having opposite edges adapted to be wrapped inoverlapping relation with one another.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the wall can be acircumferentially continuous, seamless wall.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method ofconstructing a textile protective sleeve is provided. The methodincludes interlacing yarn to form a wall having a cavity bounded by aninnermost surface extending between opposite open ends. Further, bondinga first material including a hot melt adhesive material to the wallimmediately adjacent the opposite ends, and further yet, bonding asecond material including an elastomeric material to the wallimmediately adjacent the opposite ends.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the method canfurther include applying the first and second materials as a mixture tothe innermost surface.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the method canfurther include leaving an intermediate section of the wall extendingbetween the opposite ends free of the first and second materials.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the method canfurther include forming the wall having opposite edges adapted to bewrapped in overlapping relation with one another.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the method canfurther include forming the wall having a circumferentially continuous,seamless wall.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the method canfurther include applying the mixture on an outer surface of the wall.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method of fixing atextile sleeve, having a wall of interlaced yarn with a cavity boundedby an inner surface extending between opposite open ends with a hot meltadhesive material applied to the inner surface, about an elongate memberis provided. The method includes extending the elongate member throughthe cavity; compressing the wall into abutment with the elongate memberwith a heated member and causing the hot melt adhesive material to bondwith the elongate member.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the method canfurther include compressing the wall with the heated member adjacent theopposite open ends of the wall.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the method canfurther include leaving an intermediate section of the wall extendingbetween the opposite ends in unbonded relation with the elongate member.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the method canfurther include applying an elastomeric material to the innermostsurface in a mixture with the hot melt adhesive material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other aspects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more readily appreciated when considered inconnection with the following detailed description of presentlypreferred embodiments and best mode, appended claims and accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a textile sleeve constructed inaccordance with one aspect of the invention fixed to an elongate memberextending therethrough;

FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a wall of the textile sleeveconstructed in accordance with one aspect of the invention;

FIG. 2B is a perspective view of a wall of the textile sleeveconstructed in accordance with another aspect of the invention;

FIG. 2C is a perspective view of a wall of the textile sleeveconstructed in accordance with yet another aspect of the invention;

FIG. 2D is a perspective view of a wall of the textile sleeveconstructed in accordance with yet another aspect of the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a method of wrapping the wall of the sleeve andfixing the wall of the sleeve to an elongate member extendingtherethrough;

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a textile sleeve constructed inaccordance with another aspect of the invention fixed to an elongatemember extending therethrough; and

FIG. 4B is a perspective view of a textile sleeve constructed inaccordance with yet another aspect of the invention fixed to an elongatemember extending therethrough.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring in more detail to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a textilesleeve constructed in accordance with one aspect of the invention, shownas a wrappable sleeve, by way of example and without limitation, andreferred to hereafter as sleeve 10. The sleeve 10 has a wrappable wall12, such as a self-wrapping elongate wall that automatically curls intoits wrapped configuration absent some externally applied force, forrouting and protecting elongate members 14, such as a cable, wires or awire harness, by way of example and without limitation. The elongatewall 12 has opposite edges 16, 17 extending generally parallel to acentral, longitudinal axis 18 between opposite open ends 19, 20, whereinthe edges 16, 17 are preferably biased into overlapping relation withone another in “cigarette wrapped” fashion to fully enclose the elongatemember(s) 14 within a central cavity C of the sleeve 10. The cavity C isbounded by an innermost surface 21 of the wall 12 and is readilyaccessible along the full length of the longitudinal axis 18 so that theelongate member(s) 14 can be readily disposed radially into the cavityC, and conversely, removed from the cavity C, such as during service. Tofix the wall 12 to the elongate member 14, thereby preventing relativerotational and axial movement therebetween, and further, to facilitatepreventing end fray of the opposite ends 19, 20 the wall 12, such asduring cutting in manufacture and also during in use, the wall 12 has acoating 22 formed from a mixture of a first material and a differentsecond material bonded to the innermost surface 21 of the wall 12immediately adjacent the opposite ends 19, 20. The first materialincludes a hot melt adhesive material to facilitate bonding the wall 12to an outer surface of the elongate member 14 and the second materialincludes an elastomeric material to facilitate preventing end fray ofthe opposite ends 19, 20.

Depending on the application needs, the wall 12 can be constructedhaving any suitable size, including length and diameter. Further, thewall 12 can be formed of interlaced yarn using any desired interlacingprocess, such as braiding, weaving or knitting. If the wall 12 is formedas a self-wrapping wall, at least some of the weft-wise,circumferentially extending yarn, whether multifilament and/ormonofilament, can be provided as any suitable heat-settable polymericmaterial, such as polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) orpolyethyleneterephthalate (PET), for example.

To apply the mixture of the coating 22 to the wall 12, the mixture canbe first formed as a pre-formed solid sheet of the coating 22 fabricatedfrom the mixture, whereupon the solid sheet of the coating 22 can belaminated to the innermost surface 21 of the wall 12. Otherwise, thecoating 22 of the mixture can be applied as a liquid to at least theinnermost surface 21 (FIG. 2A), or about the entirety of the wall 12(FIG. 2B), such as via a spraying or dipping process, by way of exampleand without limitation. Regardless of how the mixture of the coating 22is bonded to the wall 12, at least the innermost surface 21 is coated,thereby providing the ability to bond the hot melt adhesive material ofthe mixture M to the outer surface of the elongate member 14. As such,it should he understood that the mixture can he applied, whether apre-formed sheet or liquid, to cover the entirety of the innermostsurface 21, and also, if desired, the entirety of the wall 12 includingthe outermost surface, thereby extending from one edge 16 to the otheredge 17, and from one end 19 of the wall 12 to an opposite end 20 of thewall 12. Otherwise, as shown in FIG. 2C, the mixture can be applied,whether as a preformed solid sheet or liquid, to only the end regions ERof the wall 12 extending immediately adjacent the opposite ends 19, 20,thereby forming an intermediate region IR of the wall extending betweenthe end regions ER, and thus, the opposite ends 19, 20, that is free orvoid of the coating 22, thereby saving expense on the cost of thecoating, as well as maintaining maximum flexibility of the sleeve 10within the intermediate region IR.

Upon bonding the coating 22 to the wall 12, the wall 12 can be heat-setinto a self-wrapping wall and/or wrapped about the elongate member 14.Otherwise, it should be recognized that the wall 12 can first beheat-set into a self-wrapping wall and then the wall 12 can he sprayed,dipped or otherwise coated with mixture of coating material to arrive atone of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 2B (entire wall coated) and 2D(only end regions ER coated). Then, the elongate member 14 can hedisposed within the cavity C of the sleeve 10, and as shown in FIG. 3, acompressive force F can then be applied to the wall 12 via a heatedcompressive member 24, such as a clamp or otherwise, wherein thecompressive member 24 can be heated between about 200-250 degrees C., byway of example, to bring the innermost surface 21 and the hot meltadhesive material within the coating 22 into abutment with the outersurface of the elongate member 14, wherein the heated compressive member24 causes the hot melt adhesive material to at least partially melt andbond to the outer surface of the elongate member 14. Accordingly, thewall 12 is fixed against relative movement with the elongate member 14and is further fixed in its wrapped configuration. It should berecognized that the heated compressive member 24 can be compressed at aplurality of locations along the length of the sleeve 10, as desired,and preferably at least adjacent opposite ends 19, 20 of the sleeve 10to ensure the ends 19, 20 are bonded with the elongate member 14.

In FIGS. 4A and 4B, a sleeve 110 constructed in accordance with anotheraspect of the invention is shown, wherein the same reference numerals,offset by a factor of 100, are used to identify like features. Ratherthan the sleeve 110 having a wrappable a wall 112 of the sleeve 110 isconstructed as a circumferentially continuous, seamless wall 112 usingone of the aforementioned processes discussed above, such as, braiding,weaving or knitting. With the wall 112 being circumferentiallycontinuous, a mixture of the material forming a coating 122 is notapplied as a pre-formed laminated sheet to an innermost surface, butrather, the mixture of the first and second materials is applied as aliquid to an innermost surface 121, such as by dipping or spraying thewall 112 in or with the mixture including hot melt adhesive material,such as a hot melt powder material added to an elastomeric material, byway of example and without limitation. Of course, other applicationmethods for applying the liquid mixture to the innermost surface 121 canbe used, such as spreading and coating the mixture material as apaste-like substance via any suitable spreading mechanism. In additionto the hot melt adhesive powder bonding the wall 112 to the elongatemember 114, the elastomer material within the mixture, upon solidifyingthe coating 122 on the wall 112, at least about the end regions of thewall 112, functions to prevent end fray of the yarn material of the wall112. As shown in FIG. 4A, application of the mixture to the wall 112 caninclude dipping opposite ends 119, 120 of the wall 112 in a meltedsolution of the mixture and then allowing the dipped ends 119, 120 todry and solidify, thereby forming the coating 122 on the end regions ERof the sleeve 110, with an intermediate region IR remaining free of thecoating. Of course, if the ends 119, 120 are dipped, then an outersurface of the wall 112 is also coated, which further contributes to theprevention of end fray. Of course, if desired, as shown in FIG. 4B, theentire wall 112 could be dipped in the mixture thereby applying thecoating 122 over the entire innermost and outer surfaces of the wall112.

As with the previous embodiment, upon applying and bonding the mixtureto the wall 112 to form the desired coating 122, the elongate member 114is disposed within a cavity C of the wall 112, and then, a compressiveforce F is applied to the wall 112 via a heated compressive member 24,such as between about 150-250 degrees C. to at least partially melt andbond the adhesive material within the mixture to the outer surface ofthe elongate member 114. Accordingly, the wall 112 is fixed againstrelative movement with the elongate member 114, and the ends 119 are 120are protected against end fray via the elastomeric material within thecoating 122.

Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possiblein light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood thatthe invention may he practiced otherwise than as specifically described,and that the scope of the invention is defined by any ultimately allowedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of constructing a textile protectivesleeve, including: interlacing yarn to form a wall having a cavitybounded by an innermost surface extending between opposite open ends;bonding a first material including a hot melt adhesive material to saidwall immediately adjacent the opposite ends; and bonding a secondmaterial including an elastomeric material to said wall immediatelyadjacent the opposite ends.
 2. The method of claim 1 further includingproviding the first material and the second material as a mixture andbonding the mixture to the wall immediately adjacent the opposite ends.3. The method of claim 1 further including leaving an intermediatesection of said wall extending between said opposite ends free of saidfirst and second materials.
 4. The method of claim 1 further includingforming the wall having opposite edges adapted to be wrapped inoverlapping relation with one another.
 5. The method of claim 1 furtherincluding forming the wall having a circumferentially continuous,seamless wall.
 6. The method of claim 2 further including braiding saidwall.
 7. A method of fixing a textile sleeve to an elongate memberextending through a cavity of the sleeve, wherein the textile sleeve isformed by a wall of interlaced yarn having an innermost surfaceextending between opposite open ends with a hot melt adhesive materialapplied to the innermost surface of the wall adjacent the opposite ends,comprising: extending the elongate member through the cavity; andmanually compressing the innermost surface of the wail into abutmentwith the elongate member with a heated member and causing the hot meltadhesive material to melt and bond with the elongate member.
 8. Themethod of claim 7 further including compressing the wall with the heatedmember adjacent the opposite open ends of the wall.
 9. The method ofclaim 8 further including leaving an intermediate section of the wallextending between the opposite ends in unbonded relation with theelongate member.
 10. The method of claim 7 further including applying anelastomeric material to the wall immediately adjacent the opposite ends.11. The method of claim 10 further including applying the hot meltadhesive material and the elastomeric material to the wall as a mixture.